Telling a Better Story: Finding Quality in the Agile User Story

When delivering agile software development projects and conducting quality assurance and testing assessments, it often seems that “solving the testing problem” doesn’t solve “the quality problem.” The testing problem is much broader than just code quality, testing tools, automation, and skills gaps. A common problem in many projects and teams is a lack of discipline during backlog grooming and sprint planning, leading to inferior user stories that leave the QA effort in peril and disrupt project delivery. In their interactive presentation, Stephan Marceau and Keith Turpin will dissect the anatomy of good user stories and make recommendations for how you can craft your own. They will show how different points of view, from solution owner to QA professional, affect how stories are used and interpreted. You will take away tips on making software quality a part of user story construction from day one. You'll be equipped with simple, repeatable methods to identify organizational quality gaps and effect positive changes within your own organization.

Stephan Marceau is a quality engineering practice leader at Slalom and has spent his eighteen-year career in consulting, with the last ten years working in the quality assurance and testing domain. He has worked across industries, partnering with organizations large and small to help enable better software quality though a wide lens that includes agile principles, software engineering practices, and organizational culture.